Liberal MLA to seek Tory bid

VICTORIA — Liberal MLA Doug Horne has officially launched his campaign for the federal Conservative nomination in Coquitlam-Port Coquitlam.

Horne, the MLA for Coquitlam-Burke Mountain since 2009, will seek to replace outgoing federal Industry Minister James Moore in a riding that is being split in two because of recent electoral redistribution. Tim Laidler is the Conservative candidate for Port Moody-Coquitlam, the other half of the dissolved riding.

There’s no date set for the Tory nomination meeting, but Horne said he’ll resign his seat in the legislature should he win the federal candidacy so he can start campaigning ahead of the scheduled fall federal election.

Horne, 48, said in June he was considering a federal run, but made up his mind this week, after the end of the legislature’s summer session. “When I went into public life, it was to represent the people, and now it’s an opportunity to represent them federally, so it’s a good continuation of what I’m doing,” he said on Wednesday.

He admitted concern at the lack of a set date for the riding’s nomination meeting, and the looming campaign. “I need to go and knock on a lot of doors and talk to a lot of people,” he said.

Elected as an MLA in 2009 and most recently served as deputy speaker of the legislature, Horne is the latest provincial politician to announce federal ambitions. Maple Ridge-Mission MLA Marc Dalton is pursuing the Tory nomination in Pitt Meadows-Maple Ridge, where the party has set a cutoff date of Aug. 13 for new memberships. Surrey-White Rock MLA Gordie Hogg had considered a federal Liberal run but said Wednesday he’s decided to remain an MLA. And Jenny Kwan resigned her provincial seat earlier this year after securing the federal NDP nomination for Vancouver East.